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Ajay K. Israni, M.D., M.S.
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota School of Medicine
isran001@umn.edu
2007-2010 Cohort
Project Title:  "Ethnicity, Follow-up Care and Renal Function Monitoring After Kidney Transplantation"





About the Project:

Recent findings show that there is a high degree of variability in how often transplant centers and nephrologists routinely see their kidney transplant recipients.  This study addressed a disparity between African Americans and others in the success and survival of renal allografts. 

Biosketch:

Ajay K. Israni, M.D., M.S. is an Associate Professor of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Community Health at the University of Minnesota. He is a transplant nephrologist at Hennepin County Medical Center and is the Deputy Director of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Before moving to Minnesota in 2005, he completed his renal fellowship, Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and subsequently was an Instructor in Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Israni has two specific areas of focus in end stage renal disease particularly in renal transplantation: (1) improving outcomes in renal transplantation by utilizing the tools of molecular epidemiology (funded by his NIH K23 grant) and administrative claims databases (2) understanding determinants and reducing ethnic disparities in outcomes post-transplantation.

During his fellowship, Dr. Israni along with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, studied the role of adherence to immunosuppressive medications in explaining ethnic disparities in outcomes post renal transplantation. This work involved nine transplant centers in the Delaware Valley region and showed that the transplant center itself was an important determinant of poor adherence to immunosuppressive medications. There is wide variation in post-transplant care at the transplant centers in the United States and thus the goal of his Physician Faculty Scholars Program project was to determine the role of access to physician and follow-up care in healthcare disparities. This project also aimed to determine the follow-up care patterns that are associated with improved outcomes for all renal transplant recipients. Dr. Israni’s Physician Faculty Scholars Program project was entitled "Ethnicity, Follow-up Care and Renal Function Monitoring After Kidney Transplantation."

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